Gerdine Maree Loses Grand Prix Horse Holiday

Dressage

The Netherlands

Gerdine Maree has lost her international Grand Prix horse Holiday. The 13-year old gelding had to be put to sleep after foundering.

Holiday was a Dutch warmblood by Dream Boy out of Melissa (by Michelangelo x Goudsmid). He was bred by R. Roskam.

Gerdine Maree

Originally named Haydn, the dark bay is from a dam line that also produced Grand Prix horse Vasco (by Metall - under Janette Bouman).

Gerdine Maree received the ride when Holiday was four nd produced him to Grand Prix level. She co-owned him with Wouter Plaizier. She only very lightly competed him as a young horse (four shows) and began to actively show him more once he reached small tour level in 2019.

The pair got silver at the 2019 Dutch Indoor Championships at ZZ-Licht level (Medium) and won gold at the 2019 Dutch Championships at ZZ-Zwaar level (Advanced Medium). In Ermelo he threw off his rider before the prize giving (he spooked from his ribbon). Shortly after the Nationals the pair debuted at national small tour level. For Maree it was a return to small tour level after a three year break. Her last Prix St Georges she rode with Dream Boy himself in 2016.

Their international Grand Prix debut was in 2022 at the CDI Sint-Truiden, where they scored 60.826%. Also at the CDI Kronenberg it wasn't the wished result (59.326) so they took almost a one year break and returned at the CDI Lier in February 2023, where the Grand Prix score was 68.935%. Maree showed him at CDI's in Tolbert, Exloo, and Leeuwarden that year, while in 2024 they competed at Lier, Aachen Festival, and Tolbert before representing The Netherlands for Nations Cup in Falsterbo. They also showed in Ermelo and Leeuwarden.

This year the duo competed in Doha, Lier and Exloo the higher sixty percent scores.

Laminitis

Unfortunately the partnership between Maree and Holiday came to a sudden end when the stallion foundered on 13 June 2025.

"He had some time off after Exloo, was turned out, and exercised a bit in the halter on the lunge line," Maree told Eurodressage. "First it seemed he had a hoof abscess on one leg, but in the end he had laminitis on three legs. We have no clue what caused it. We had to put him to sleep three days after he he developed the symptoms."

"I had an exciting, special but beautiful adventure with Holiday, but 13 years old is too young," a saddened Gerdine added.